This week Instanet Solutions, a leading provider of residential real estate technology, announced it has signed an agreement with Fannie Mae allowing the company to provide REALTOR®-users with the latest Fannie Mae forms online. This development will make it easier for consumers to have access to the forms and facilitate the review and signing of real estate contracts.
Silicon Valley REALTORS® will now be able to access Fannie Mae's purchase contracts and related documents online using Instanet's software, already widely used by over 400,000 REALTORS® across the county. The documents that can be accessed online by REALTOR® members of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) include the Fannie Mae Real Estate Purchase Addendum, Owner Occupant Certification – Rider to the Real Estate Purchase Addendum, Contract Addendum Form, Disclosure of Information on Lead-Based Paint and/or Lead Based Paint Hazards and Notice of Termination. These are national, Fannie Mae forms that are required for certain transactions involving Fannie Mae. More forms will be added as Fannie Mae makes them available.
Additionally, Fannie Mae is allowing the use of electronic signatures with its forms, so Fannie Mae contracts can be completed online. REALTORS® can easily import MLS data and contracts can be shared electronically with clients to review and sign online using Authentisign, an electronic signature solution also provided by Instanet Solutions.
Authentisign allows virtually any document to be electronically signed, whether that document was originally in electronic or paper form, and is fully compliant with ESIGN. The ESIGN law of 2000 gives the same legal validity to an electronic signature as a signature in pen and ink.
"As technology quickly evolves, so is our real estate industry rapidly evolving and embracing new products that would make the transaction easy, quick and more efficient for our clients. The ability to access Fannie Mae forms and use of electronic signatures will speed up a transaction. Once all parties have signed where indicated, everyone automatically receives a final electronic copy of the document with all required signatures," said SILVAR president Suzanne Yost.
SILVAR members already have access to PRDS Forms, an extensive line of REALTOR® created paper and online forms for residential purchase and sales transactions. These forms are available online on the Instanet Solutions platform as a free member benefit to all REALTOR® members of the Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS®
The Silicon Valley Association of REALTORS® (SILVAR) is a professional trade organization representing over 4,000 REALTORS® and Affiliate members engaged in the real estate business on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. SILVAR promotes the highest ethical standards of real estate practice, serves as an advocate for homeownership and homeowners, and represents the interests of property owners in Silicon Valley.
The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS® and who subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.
Variations of this article have appeared in local area newspapers.
For further information, please email or call the SILVAR office at (408) 200-0100.